Coalification and carbon sequestration using deep ocean hydrothermal borehole vents

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods are described for sequestering carbon stored in organic matter while minimizing the release of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and methane (CH 4 ) into the atmosphere, with the carbon (C) being stored as char or coal through the coalification process. Organic matter will be moved to submarine hydrothermal vent fields where the extreme heat in the water will drastically accelerate the degradation of the material and destroy microbes that normally consume the organic material and release the carbon as CO 2  or CH 4 . The oxygen level in the heated water around the vents is extremely low. The water surrounding these vents can reach temperatures of 400° C. (750° F.). Exemplary implementations may include constructing hydrothermal borehole vents to harness the energy continuously released from the Earth&#39;s core in the form of volcanic heat.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for coalificationand carbon sequestration using deep ocean hydrothermal borehole vents.

BACKGROUND

Weather systems are known. Issues related to the effects of atmosphericgreenhouse gasses are known, and increasingly alarming. Variousprocesses to produce coal are known.

SUMMARY

One aspect of the present disclosure relates to a system configured tocoalify organic material using hydro pyrolysis powered by one or morehydrothermal borehole vents. The system may include one or more of asemisubmersible platform, a transfer sub-system, a hydrothermal oven,one or more pipes, and/or other components. The semisubmersible platformmay be configured to be moored at a body of water, such as an ocean. Thetransfer sub-system may be configured to transfer the organic materialfrom the semisubmersible platform into the hydrothermal oven. Thehydrothermal oven may be configured to coalify the organic material inthe hydrothermal oven using at least one of (i) hot water, (ii) steam,and (iii) supercritical water.

One aspect of the present disclosure relates to a system configured totransfer organic material from a surface of a body of water to a depthof at least 200 meters below the surface of the body of water, such asan ocean. The system may include one or more of a tube having a lengthof at least 200 meters between a top end and a bottom end, one or morefloating mechanisms configured to provide buoyancy to the tube, and/orother components.

One aspect of the present disclosure relates to a method to coalifyorganic material using hydro pyrolysis powered by one or morehydrothermal borehole vents. The method may include drilling the one ormore hydrothermal borehole vents on a floor of a body of water, such asan ocean. The method may include delivering the organic material to alocation on a surface of the body of water, wherein the location isabove and/or near the one or more hydrothermal borehole vents. Themethod may include transferring the organic material towards the one ormore hydrothermal borehole vents such that at least one of (i) hotwater, (ii) steam, and (iii) supercritical water provided by the one ormore hydrothermal borehole vents coalifies the organic material throughusing hydro pyrolysis. The at least one of (i) hot water, (ii) steam,and (iii) supercritical water may have a temperature of at least 200° C.

One aspect of the present disclosure relates to a system configured tocoalify organic material using hydro pyrolysis powered by hydrothermalborehole vents. The system may include one or more of a drill ship, adrill, a transfer sub-system, and/or other components. The drill shipmay be configured to carry the drill. The drill may include a drillshaft and a drill bit. The transfer sub-system may be configured totransfer the organic material from the drill ship, through the drillshaft, into a hydrothermal borehole vent such that the organic materialcoalifies through hydro pyrolysis powered by the hydrothermal boreholevent.

As used herein, any association (or relation, or reflection, orindication, or correspondency) involving hydrothermal (borehole) vents,hydrothermal ovens, pipes, tubes, sea-silos, containers, and/or anotherentity or object that interacts with any part of the system and/or playsa part in the operation of the system, may be a one-to-one association,a one-to-many association, a many-to-one association, and/or amany-to-many association or “N”-to-“M” association (note that “N” and“M” may be different numbers greater than 1).

As used herein, the term “obtain” (and derivatives thereof) may includeactive and/or passive retrieval, determination, derivation, transfer,upload, download, submission, and/or exchange of information, and/or anycombination thereof. As used herein, the term “effectuate” (andderivatives thereof) may include active and/or passive causation of anyeffect, both local and remote. As used herein, the term “determine” (andderivatives thereof) may include measure, calculate, compute, estimate,approximate, generate, and/or otherwise derive, and/or any combinationthereof.

As used herein, the term “coupled” does not require direct attachment,but allows for one or more intermediary components between the coupledelements. As used herein, the term “connected” may suggest a directattachment, but need not require a direct attachment unless specificallystated.

These and other features, and characteristics of the present technology,as well as the methods of operation and functions of the relatedelements of structure and the combination of parts and economies ofmanufacture, will become more apparent upon consideration of thefollowing description and the appended claims with reference to theaccompanying drawings, all of which form a part of this specification,wherein like reference numerals designate corresponding parts in thevarious figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that thedrawings are for the purpose of illustration and description only andare not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention. As usedin the specification and in the claims, the singular form of “a”, “an”,and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictatesotherwise.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1—A map of the Earth 100 with the general location of thecontinents, major fault lines 111, and areas where hydrothermal ventsfields 112 have been discovered.

FIG. 2—A chart 200 showing approximate variations in pressure 201 andwater boiling point 203 associated with changes in depth 201. There is adifference between fresh water and salt water pressures and boilingpoint curves due to the higher density of salt water and compression ofwater at great depths. Water can achieve the supercritical state 203 atgreat depths and higher temperatures.

FIG. 3—Seaworthy log raft 300 similar to the one hundred and twenty lografts supplied from Oregon's Columbia River to the Benson sawmill in SanDiego between years 1906 and 1941. The larger rafts contained the carbonequivalent of 15.8M Ton of atmospheric CO₂ that would be released to theatmosphere if the logs were allowed to degrade naturally over time onthe Earth's surface rather than go through the coalification process asdescribed herein.

FIG. 4—A disposable organic matter container 400 made from wood or otherorganic matter and configured to hold miscellaneous organic matter forthe purpose of carbonization of the container and contents.

FIGS. 5A-5B illustrate a recoverable, reusable organic matter container500 configured to sit in the area of a hydrothermal vent until theorganic matter has been carbonized after which the remains can beretrieved along with the container or left on the bottom of the oceanwhen the container is retrieved.

FIG. 6—A mechanism 600 for waterlogging organic matter before beingmoved to a deep ocean hydrothermal vent field.

FIG. 7—A cross-section of a slow spreading hydrothermal vent ridge 700typical of the ridges in the North Atlantic Ocean. A mooring 705 hasbeen inserted into the ocean bottom with a cable 706 running up to abuoy floating above the hydrothermal vent field normally near thesurface of the ocean.

FIG. 8—A high temperature) oven 800 sitting on top of a hydrothermalvent.

FIG. 9—A thermal reflector 900 over a hydrothermal vent field forincreasing the average temperature of the water surrounding the vent andthe subsequent rate of coalification of organic matter in the area.

FIG. 10—The cross-section of a fast spreading hydrothermal vent fieldwith a configuration 1000 that includes stadium walls 1001 (supported bysupports 1002) added to minimize the effect of volcanic activity movingorganic matter in a vent field outside of the area used forcoalification by violent volcanic activity in the vent field.

FIG. 11—A cross-section of a large oven for organic materialcoalification set on hydrothermal vents in a vent field on a fastspreading oceanic ridge with pressure relief vents 1103 to lessen theeffect of violent volcanic activity on the oven.

FIG. 12—A small sea silo 1201 being filled by a boat having a conveyer1206 to move waterlogged organic matter 1205 into the silo with theconveyer having plumbing for water or fluid organic matter to be pumpedinto the silo or to assist in moving the organic matter 1205 thoroughthe silo and down to the hydrothermal vent field 1207.

FIG. 13—Large sea silo with surface level entrance 1302 to accommodatefloating organic matter like log rafts or bamboo rafts. The silo iscapable of holding a large amount of organic matter while it is becomingwaterlogged.

FIG. 14—A system where the flow of organic matter is directly into ahigh temperature oven on a fast spreading ocean ridge.

FIG. 15—A weight for compressing carbon after coalification into moredense forms of coal.

FIG. 16—A group of five sea silos mounted on the floor of the ocean.

FIG. 17—Sea silo controls including a shutoff valve 1700 a, a flowcontrol float valve 1700 b and a flow control pusher 1700 c for use whenhandling materials of concern or that tend to float back up the silos.

FIG. 18—A series of cross sectioned orthographic projections depicting adouble hulled oil tanker being modified for use as a cover for ahydrothermal vent field.

FIG. 19—A cross section of a modified double hulled oil tanker andassociated equipment being used as a cover for a hydrothermal ventfield.

FIG. 20—A large barge configured for use in coalification on ahydrothermal vent site.

FIG. 21—A barge of FIG. 20 on the hydrothermal vent field.

FIG. 22—Multiple ovens used in series to process organic materialthrough the coalification process.

FIG. 23—Block diagram of typical workflow for a hydrothermal ventcoalification operation.

FIG. 24—A blimp configured to transport forest wood and litter fromroadless areas to a river or road that can move the organic matter tothe ocean and hydrothermal vent fields.

FIG. 25—A heavy lift blimp configuration with 6 smaller blimps in aframe with a piloted or unpiloted control blimp with an internal waterballast storage capacity.

FIG. 26 is a depiction of a drill ship commonly used by the petroleumindustry for drilling oil wells, with a drill bit of the type commonlyused to drill through rock.

FIGS. 27A-27B-27C illustrate cross-sectional drawings depicting thedrilling of a bore hole 2702 (FIG. 27A), the addition of a liner 2703(FIG. 27B), and the addition of an incoming water pipe 2704 (FIG. 27C).

FIG. 28 is a depiction of the pipes at the top of a borehole incross-section where the heated water 2706 from the bore hole is exitingnear the bottom of the ocean 2803 for use in that general area.

FIG. 29 is a crossover connection for a coaxial pipe in cross-sectionwhere the incoming water 2705 to the bore hole is on the outside of thecoaxial pipe above the crossover connector 2901with the outgoing heatedwater 2706 on the inside of the pipe. Below the crossover connector2901, the water heated from the borehole 2706 is on the outside of thecoaxial pipe and the incoming water 2705 is on the inside.

FIGS. 30A-30B illustrate cross-sections of ways to control the boilingpoint of water rising in the center of an insulated coaxial riser pipe.FIG. 30A depicts the introduction of colder water to reduce the tendencyof the water to boil as the pressure decreases during the waters risetoward the surface of the ocean. FIG. 30B is a cross-section of areservoir that would be located above FIG. 30A configured to stabilizethe steam pressure inside riser pipe 2902 at or near the pressure of thesurrounding water at that depth.

FIG. 31 is a hydrothermal vent oven shown in cross-section configured tooperate on the sea floor at depths where the boiling point of water ishigh enough to produce significant amounts of oil and combustible gaswhen processing organic matter into hydrochar.

FIG. 32 is a hydrothermal vent oven in cross-section mounted well abovethe bottom of the ocean in an effort to decrease to production of oiland combustible gas generated in the hydrochar operation.

FIG. 33 is a two view orthographic projection of a double hulled oiltanker with View A-A in cross-section.

FIG. 34 is a three view orthographic projection with two viewscross-sectioned of the oil tanker of FIG. 33 modified for use as ahydrothermal vent oven.

FIG. 35 is a three view orthographic projection of the hull in FIG. 34loaded with organic matter.

FIG. 36 is a three view orthographic projection of a set of porous hatchcovers for the modified hull of FIG. 35

FIG. 37 is a three view orthographic projection of the loaded hull ofFIG. 34 with the hatch covers securing the organic matter in the hull'shold.

FIG. 38a is a two view orthographic projection of the hull of FIG. 37being rolled 90°, and in FIG. 38b the hull is rolled 180° coming to reston a raised hydrothermal vent oven platform for processing the organicmatter into hydrochar.

FIGS. 39A-39B-39C show cross-section views of a storage facility forstoring hot, superheated, or supercritical water heated by thehydrothermal vents for later use. These facilities can be huge withbuoyancy added to the dome to lower the pressure underneath the domewhen filled with hot water.

FIG. 40 is a steam turbine driving a set of electrical generators, atypical application for high pressure steam coming from hydrothermalvents or a hot or supercritical water storage facility.

FIG. 41 is a semisubmersible that is suspending a top loadinghydrothermal oven above the ocean floor for processing organic matterinto hydrochar with the energy from hydrothermal vents.

FIG. 42 is a reusable container and cover for loading organic matteronto a hydro thermal vent oven of FIG. 38 or FIG. 41. The cover isweighted so that buoyant organic material like household plastics orlogs that are not waterlogged, can be processed on the deep seahydrothermal.

FIG. 43 is an operation at the sea surface supporting the coalificationprocess. There is a ship at the semisubmersible platform of FIG. 43unloading organic matter and a corral for floating logs or rafts of thatare waiting to be processed.

FIG. 44 is a block diagram of typical operation of the equipment of FIG.43.

FIGS. 45A-45B illustrate a semisubmersible set up to initiating rainclouds far above the ocean's surface for the purpose of providing rainto areas down wind of the initiation site.

FIG. 46 is a topographical map of Saudi Arabia showing major obstaclesto the movement of clouds moving east from the Red Sea.

FIG. 47 is a table of known hydrothermal fields in the Red Sea.

FIG. 48 is a table of the prevailing winds across Saudi Arabia in theyear 2016.

FIG. 49 is an electrolysis unit configured to operate on the seafloor.It has a high pressure storage unit for both hydrogen and oxygenoperating at the pressure of the water surrounding the storage unit.

FIG. 50 is a wind powered electrical generating barge of the type neededto drive the electrolysis system of FIG. 49. A massive spinnaker is usedto concentrate the winds energy.

FIGS. 51A-51B-51C illustrate three phases of operation for the wind toelectricity barge of FIG. 50 with hatches battened down in FIG. 50A forstorms or storage; masts up ready to lift wind turbines in FIG. 50B; andFIG. 50C with the wind tunnel raised from the barge's hold with thespinnaker 2712 still furled around the wind tunnel 2800.

FIG. 52 is two views: front and side of FIG. 51c with the wind tunnel incross-section.

FIG. 53 depicts the wind tunnel identifying the location of sixty winddriven electrical turbines.

FIG. 54A-54B-54C-54D-54E-54F depict a furling system or componentsthereof for the spinnaker 2601 in various stages of deployment.

FIG. 55 illustrates a system configured to coalify organic materialusing hydro pyrolysis powered by one or more hydrothermal boreholevents, in accordance with one or more implementations.

FIG. 56 illustrates a system configured to coalify organic materialusing hydro pyrolysis powered by hydrothermal borehole vents, inaccordance with one or more implementations.

FIG. 57 illustrates a method to coalify organic material using hydropyrolysis powered by one or more hydrothermal borehole vents, inaccordance with one or more implementations.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The devices, systems, and methods described herein address the problemof an excess concentration of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere, whichis a side effect that occurred when the world industrialized and startedconsuming large quantities of fossil fuel (coal, oil, and gas) thatstored carbon for millions of years that now has formed atmosphericgreenhouse gasses. It is generally accepted that the release ofgreenhouse gasses has caused the earth to warm and is a major concern ofmost nations and the scientists who have studied the present situation.Prior to the industrial revolution, wood was used to warm the fires inhomes, and charcoal made from wood was used when high temperatures wereneeded including the processing of pottery in early pottery kilns, thenbronze during the Bronze Age, and iron during the Iron Age. The use ofwood as a fuel is carbon neutral since the wood gets carbon from the airthrough photosynthesis. The most prevalent greenhouse gas is carbondioxide (CO₂) with methane (CH₄) in second place.

CO₂ is a fertilizer for trees and other plants that take in the CO₂through photosynthesis, release oxygen, and store the carbon as organicmatter in the plant. When the plants die and decompose, the microbesthat consume the plants release CO₂ back into the air. Coal seams thatare being mined today were formed though the compacting of organicmatter. Microbes that consume organic matter and release the CO₂ backinto the atmosphere did not exist or were not as prevalent, therebyallowing much of the dead organic matter to be processed throughcoalification.

By way of non-limiting example, some of this disclosure includes methodsof achieving coalification of large quantities of organic matterincluding using the volcanic energy near hydrothermal vent fields toquickly decompose organic matter through hydro pyrolysis. The water nearthe bottom of the ocean is cold, typically less than 2° C., and oxygendeprived due to oxygens affinity to the warmer water nearer to theocean's surface.

From a sizing standpoint, worldwide the amount of organic matter thatwould be needed to offset the consumption of fossil fuel is about 900times the consumption rate of the Benson Sawmill operating in San DiegoCalif. from 1906 to 1941.

The focus of this disclosure is to cause organic matter to decomposewithout generating CO₂. It is similar to the process used for “coaling”where wood is stacked, and burned in a low oxygen environment tobreakdown the wood's fibers and make charcoal as has been done bymankind for thousands of years.

While any organic material (vegetable or animal) can be used for thisprocess, one area of focus is on trees due their abundance and ease ofmanipulating large quantities of carbon. The Trillion Tree plantingeffort worldwide will help but if the trees go through their normal lifecycle, the sequestering of carbon will only be for a few hundred yearsif the trees are allowed to decay naturally. If the trees and otherorganic matter go through coalification, with the carbon stored at thebottom of the ocean, the carbon could be stored for a few hundredthousand years and the trees that are removed for coalification can bereplaced with new trees that through photosynthesis will remove morecarbon dioxide from the air.

Municipal dumps are a significant source of greenhouse gasses,particularly methane, from the decay of vegetable and animal organicmatter. If the same material were processed through coalification, theassociated air pollution would be abated as would the world's greenhousegas problem. In intensely populated cities, the methods described hereinmay be less expensive than using landfills.

In most carbon capture and storage efforts, the emphasis has been oncapturing and storing carbon dioxide CO₂, not carbon. In the effortdescribed here, the capturing of the carbon (not CO₂) is accomplished byvegetation through photosynthesis. Virtually all organic matter cyclescarbon between storage in organic matter and atmospheric carbon dioxide.Through photosynthesis, plants absorb CO₂, use the carbon to increasetheir size and mass, and release the oxygen into the air. Plants are atthe bottom of the food chain for animals and the carbon from the plantsbuilds animal bodies also. When the plants and animals die, they areconsumed by microbes or fire both of which release the carbon back intothe atmosphere as CO₂. Every spring the atmospheric CO₂ level starts todrop due to budding vegetation and every fall the CO₂ level in theatmosphere increases due to an increase in rotting organic matter.

Nature's annual atmospheric CO₂ flux is far greater than the annualincrease in anthropogenic atmospheric CO₂. It is cyclic and 180° out ofphase between the northern and southern hemisphere with the northernhemisphere, which has about twice as much land area, dominating thecycle. Nature's CO₂ emissions flux could be slowed down. Organic matterthat holds the carbon for minutes to centuries can be turned intocharcoal or char and stored in the Earth's soil or on the bottom of theocean where eventually it could form a coal seam resulting in lessatmospheric CO₂ being released.

If all the world's anthropogenic garbage could be processed throughsystems and methods as described herein, it would make a small dent inthe atmospheric CO₂ level. If half the world's dead trees could beprocessed, the Earth would be carbon negative with atmospheric CO₂levels dropping without decreasing anthropogenic CO₂ emissions.

Hydrothermal vents driven by volcanic energy are a naturally occurringphenomenon that occurs throughout the world. They are concentrated alongthe mid-ocean ridges where the Earth's tectonic plates collide, divide,or slide past each other. The water that boils out of the vents seepsinto the earth perhaps hundreds of miles from the vent. From aprocessing standpoint, the lack of control of the energy released bynaturally occurring hydrothermal vents makes it difficult to harness theenergy for useful purposes.

This disclosure describes the construction of manmade hydrothermal vents(also referred to as hydrothermal borehole vents), methods of storingthe energy extracted from these hydrothermal vents for later use, andapplications for the stored energy. The basic premise for this isdepicted in FIG. 2 where the relationship between the depth of theoceans' water, the pressure at that depth 2501, and the boiling point ofwater at that depth 2502 and the supercritical water area 2503 areplotted. One of the concepts described herein is to move organic matterto a place where it can be broken down without the emission of CO₂ intothe atmosphere and storing the resultant carbon where it can remain foreons.

A hydrothermal vent field 500 m (2000 feet) below the ocean's surfacewould support quick decomposition through hydro pyrolysis. Due to thewater pressure, these fields have a water boiling point that willconvert the organic matter to carbon through hydro pyrolysis in secondsto hours. The energy needed to accomplish this is stored in the 1200° C.magma chambers below the hydrothermal vent fields. The oceans' bottomaway from the hydrothermal vent fields is an ideal place to store thecarbon for eons.

Mid Ocean Ridges

FIG. 1 is a plot of the Earth showing the continents of North America101, South America 113, Europe 102, Africa 114, Asia 104, Australia 105,Antarctica 106, as well as the Middle East 103 which is part of theAsian continent. In FIG. 1 the globe is divided by longitude lines every30° with zero being in the middle, positive longitude lines on the right(East) and negative on the left (West). The Equator 107, the Tropic ofCancer 108 and the Tropic of Capricorn 109 are included.

The movement of the Earth's tectonic plates the continents ride uponcreates two types of faults 111 in the Earth's 100 crust. There aresubduction zones where one tectonic plate is sliding under another andfaults where the tectonic plates are pulling apart. In FIG. 1, areaswhere spreading faults 112 have been identified by the star symbol. MidOcean Ridges have formed across the planet and are interconnected makingthem the longest mountain range in the world at just under 80,000 km(50,000 miles).

Submarine Hydrothermal Vents Fields

When the tectonic plates spread apart, magma from the core of the Earthcomes up and fills the cracks between the continental plates. Naturalhydrothermal vents form when water below the sea floor is heated to theboiling point or the supercritical water state. The temperature of thewater below the vent is heated until it boils which occurs at differenttemperatures at different depths and near the temperatures indicated bycurve 202 of FIG. 2. The increase in boiling temperature 202 with depth201 is caused by the increase in pressure 201 with depth. It is a superpressure cooker reaching temperatures above 400° C. (750° F.) heatedfrom energy released by the 1200° C. magma chambers below natural vents.

Suitable Organic Materials

Almost any organic material is suitable for the process describedherein. If a way to get the organic matter to the processing centers canbe found, coalification of the organic matter can take place. A primaryfocus for materials for coalification in the effort is trees and lografts 300 (or bamboo rafts) of FIG. 3. Log rafts 300 with thousands oflogs have been built where one raft processed into coal will sequestercarbon equal to about 10 hours of worldwide CO₂ emissions.

There are other organic materials that accumulates like fallen leaves,yard trimmings, or food waste. There is also industrial waste, materialfrom deconstruction sites, and worn out car tires that could beprocessed. Some of the materials processed may use significantly higherdecomposition temperatures than wood and will need to be taken toappropriate coalification site that can reach the higher temperaturesneeded for proper decomposition. Specific containers like, by way ofnon-limiting example, the containers of FIG. 4, FIGS. 5A-5B, and FIG. 42may be needed to process some organic materials.

FIG. 14 illustrates a way of handling waste of specific concern. Solidmunicipal waste 1205 is being moved from the boat 1204 into the sea silo1201 via the conveyer 1206. The conveyer 1206 also has a fluidcapability where seawater and other fluids can be pumped into the seasilo 1201. Barge 1401 shown in cross-section contains sewer sludge 1402that is being sucked into boat 1204 through tube 1403 and pumped intosea silo 1201. Organic matter that is difficult to breakdown will beheld in oven 1100 long enough for the degradation to occur.

The term “plastics” includes materials composed of various elements suchas carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, chlorine, and sulfur (C, H, O, N,Cl & S). Many plastics can be broken down at the temperatures that canbe achieved at the submarine hydrothermal operation described herein.

Municipal waste could include hazardous chemicals that can be brokendown at the correct vent water temperature if held for the proper time.For loads of organic matter that are or might have problems, control ofthe material is important and can be accomplished with a system likethat shown in FIG. 14.

The controls on the system can be set up so that the material 1205 ormaterial 1402 of concern is held in the oven 1100 at a temperature andfor a time period that will assure the materials proper decompositionand avoids side effects.

For some materials to be processed through hydrothermal ventcoalification the retrieval of the end product may be desirable. Forsuch applications, the retrievable container similar to the examplesshown in FIG. 5A-5B would be needed. FIG. 5B where the lid 502 is openmay be normal for loading the container on land. When on a hydrothermalvent field (as depicted in FIG. 5B), the coalification will take placeand the lifting eyes 503 will allow container 500 to be retrieved withor without the remains of the original content.

Waterlogging Organic Material

In order to get the material to the hydrothermal vent field forcoalification, the material or the material plus the container mustsink. Waterlogging is probably the easiest way to get material like woodor bamboo to sink. FIG. 6 shows two waterlogging setups 600, one withdisposable container 400 of FIG. 4 and one with log raft 300 (alsodepicted in FIG. 3). In this system, moorings 603 are placed in the seafloor 602 and chain or line is connected to the package beingwaterlogged, i.e., cargo container 400 or log raft 300. The mooring lineor chain is also connected to a buoy 604 on the water's surface 601.Changing the pressure on the items being waterlogged will allow thewater to penetrate the cell walls and the gas in the cells to escapemore easily. The tides in the open ocean are relatively small, about 2feet compared to the tides near shore which are often greater than 6foot and can reach 43 foot in the Bay of Fundy. Waterlogging is likelyto occur faster near shore due to the increased tides and associatedpressure variation on the material being waterlogged. If waterloggingwere deemed not practical, a heavy container 500 can be used to move theorganic material to the hydrothermal vent area. In some implementations,getting the material to sink sooner could include adding rocks or otherdense matter to a log raft 300 or a containers 400-500. In someimplementations, a raft may include holds for other organic material.

Moving Material to Coalification Centers

A primary source of organic material will be the world's forests. Manyof the forests have large areas that are roadless and difficult toreach. FIG. 24 illustrates a configuration 2400 which includes aremotely piloted blimp 2401 with navigation lights 2402, a rudder 2403,ailerons 2404, a motor 2406 mounted to the blimp, propeller 2405, and/orother components. In some implementations, the blimp may have two waterbags 2407 attached to it as well as a harness 2408 that includes loggingstraps 2409 that are tied around logs 2410 and other organic matter thatneeds to be transported out of a roadless or difficult to reach area toa river or road where the organic matter can be moved to the ocean andeventually to a coalification operation over a hydrothermal vent field.

In configuration 2400 the water bags 2407 are full and will be emptiedto lessen the weight and allow the blimp to lift the logs and otherorganic matter 2410 off the ground. The blimp 2401 and logs and organicmatter 2410 will be moved to the ocean or a river leading to the ocean,or a road where the logs and organic matter can be transported to theocean. When the blimp and organic reach the transfer point, the waterbags 2407 will be refilled and the logs and organic matter 2410 will bereleased. The blimp will head back to the roadless forested area andpick up another load.

Protecting blimps from storm damage may rely on hangars. Heavy liftblimps are of greater concern due to the size of the blimps and theavailability of safe places to keep them in a storm. FIG. 25 illustratesa heavy lift configuration including multiple smaller blimps. In thisconfiguration, blimp 2502 has a gondola 2503 with room for pilots andcrew as well as a water ballast. It also has a frame 2501 configured tohold five of blimps 2401 similar to those used in configuration 2400.

In some implementations, the blimp may be an unmanned remotely operatedor autonomous air vehicle operating in remote areas and at lowaltitudes. Moving a waterlogged log raft 300, a disposable container400, or a reusable container 500 to the ocean from the shore or a riveremptying into the ocean, to a coalification operation can beaccomplished with ships and tub boats.

Moving the organic material from the oceans' surface down to theprocessing area which could be a mile or more below the surface of theocean may need guidance. One way to accomplishing this is with guidancefrom surface ships maintaining a hold on the log raft as it sinks towardthe targeted point on the oceans bottom using a mooring cable 706. Amooring 705 or anchor can be placed in the hydrothermal vent field withthe mooring line 706 or anchor line used to control the position of lografts and containers as they descend to the hydrothermal vent field.When the load attached to cable 706 for coalification is not to beretrieved in the near future, the connection to the cable may beaccomplished with a fastener that will degrade and disintegrate overtime or otherwise release once the load is in or near the desiredposition.

In some cases, it may be easier to use underwater unmanned vehicleseither remotely piloted or operating autonomously to guide the materialdown to the vent field. Manned underwater vehicles could be used toguide the load to the hydrothermal vent field but that type of equipmentmay be expensive and cumbersome when attempting to work at some of thedepths under consideration.

Sea Silos

FIG. 12 depicts a sea silo system 1200 that includes a sea silo 1201(which includes a tube 1210 having a length of at least 200 meterbetween a top end and a bottom end), one or more floating mechanisms(e.g., float 1202, floats 1209, boat 1204, and/or other componentsconfigured to provide buoyancy to tube 1210), and/or other components.Tube 1210 is configured to extend from above the surface of the body ofwater (e.g., sea level 601) to a depth of at least 200 meters (or, insome cases, at least 500 meters) below the surface. Sea silos 1201 (inFIG. 12) and 1301 (in FIG. 13) may be configured to move organic matterdown to the ocean floor. The lower parts of the silos are typically heldover the hydrothermal vent fields or other desirable areas, e.g., withguys 1203 that connect the silos 1201 and 1301 to moorings 705. The topof the silo 1201 is held above sea level 601 by a float 1202 along withflotation support from floats 1209. The boat 1204, perhaps a municipalgarbage barge, may offload its cargo, including organic matter 1205,into the top of silo 1201 using a conveyor 1206 that is fitted withwater pipe used to pump water or fluid organic matter into the top ofthe silo 1201 to encourage the flow of the organic matter 1205 from theboat 1204 down the silo to the hydrothermal vent field near vent 1207with its emission of boiling water 1208 generated by contact with themagma in the Earth's core below the vent. When the sea silos are movedto the vent sites, it will usually be done in sections with the sectionsbeing assembled while horizontal on the surface of the ocean 601.Following assembly some of the flotation or buoyancy will be removedallowing one end of the silo to sink. The floats 1209 will be arrangeddown the silo to minimize the stresses in the silo during the assemblyprocess as well as the stresses associated with normal operation. Insome implementations, one or more of the floating mechanisms may becontrollable such that the buoyancy can change, e.g., as controlled by auser. In some implementations, tube 1210 may have a diameter rangingbetween 1 and 3 feet, or between 2 and 4 feet.

FIG. 13 depicts a sea silo system 1300 that includes a sea silo 1301(which includes a tube 1312 having a length of at least 200 meterbetween a top end and a bottom end). Sea silo 1301 is a larger versionof sea silo 1201. Sea silo system 1300 may include a float 1202 to keepthe top above sea level 601 and guys 1203 between sea silo 1301 and amooring 705 in the vent field near the vent 1308 with its boilingemissions 1309. Sea silo system 1300 may include a door 1302 at the topof sea silo 1301. This door opens to allow material to be hauled intosea silo 1301 that is floating at sea level 601. Next to sea silo 1301is a cargo ship 1307 (partially shown in FIG. 13) that will be loadingorganic matter into the top of sea silo 1301. The organic matter 1310has been waterlogged and is on the hydrothermal vent field in variousstages of coalification. The organic matter loaded into sea silo 1301may not be completely waterlogged. Tools like pusher 1311 and rod 1306may be used to manipulate the floaters and get them out of the way ofthe sinkers. Also, impellers 1303 may be used to move the water in thesea silo. Motor 1304 will normally be above the water and connected tothe propeller 1306 through shaft 1305. In some implementations, sea silosystem 1200 or sea silo system 1300 may include a pressure generatorconfigured to generate pressure that forces the organic material fromthe top end (of tube 1210 or tube 1312) towards and out of the bottomend of the tube. In some implementations, the pressure generator mayinclude one or more of a pusher (e.g., pusher 1311), a rod (e.g., rod1306, an impeller (e.g., impellers 1303), a motor (e.g., motor 1304),and/or other components. In some implementations, tube 1312 may have adiameter ranging between 20 and 40 feet, between 30 and 60 feet, about50 feet, about 100 feet, and/or other dimensions.

The sea silos in configuration 1600 are mounted on the sea floor withmultiple silos 1601 held in a group with supports 1602 and a floatingdeck 1605. The sea silos 1601 are held in place with guys 1203 that areconnected to moorings 705. The organic material will enter through thetop of one of the silos and start its journey through waterlogging andsinking down to the bottom of the silo. There the conditions includingthe heat from the hydrothermal vent will cause the organic matter to gothrough coalification. At the bottom of the silo the organic materialgoing through coalification will build up. The mid ocean ridges wherethe hydrothermal vent fields are found are underwater mountains with alot of relatively steep cliffs. If such a location is used for the seasilos, it might be centuries before the silos need to be moved. If thesilos need to be moved for any reason including the buildup ofcarbonized material at its base, the floating deck 1605 and stressrelieving floats 1203 can have the buoyancy to lift all five silos 1601off the sea bottom by several hundred feet allowing the sea silos andassociated equipment to be moved to a new location.

In some implementations, sea silos 1201-1301-1601 may be used inconjunction with hydrothermal vent thermal reflectors 900 to increasethe rate of coalification of the incoming organic material. In somesituations, the thermal reflectors 900 may be attached to the sea silos1201-1301-1601.

Hydrothermal Vent Ovens

The deep sea hydrothermal vent ovens 800-1100-1400-1900-2100-2200 (shownin different figures) are set up directly over hydrothermal vents wherethe organic material is controlled through the coalification process andspends time in the hottest part of the chosen hydrothermal vent field.This may be a more expensive process than moving rafts of logs down tothe bottom of the ocean and letting them go through coalification overtime, with some organic matter taking many years. Some of thehydrothermal vent ovens will be subjected to destructive volcanicactivity since they are directly over the vents, and this may have anegative effect on the useful lifetime of a hydrothermal vent oven, ventcovers, and/or other components.

There are organic materials today that require incineration after use,such as hospital materials, illegal drug seizure, the destruction ofunused or outdated drugs, unused explosives, invasive plant species,deconstruction materials or plastics that decompose at the deep seapyrolysis temperatures. Sea silos (e.g., 1201-1301) at sites were thesetypes of materials are being handled for coalification purposes may beequipped with a series of valve controls as illustrated in FIG. 17. Thevalve 1700 a is shown in the open position 1701 and closed position 1702with the valve vain 1703 closing by moving to the stops 1704 asindicated by arrow 1705. A directional flow control valve 1700 b isshown with housing 1708 and flapper 1709 installed in the sea silo 1201.The flapper 1709 is configured to float and close as shown in 1707. Whenwater is flowing downward, the valve will open as shown in 1706. This isdone to, among other things, minimize the problem of organic material1205 floating back up though sea silo 1201 and jamming up when theequipment is not in use. A silo plunger 1700 c is shown, including ashaft 1715 and a valve plate 1714 with a number of flappers 1712 thatblock the openings in the plate 1714 when pushing down as indicated bydirectional arrow 1716 as shown in 1711. When pulling up on the shaft1715 as shown in 1710, the valves open up allowing the water to flowthought the plate 1714.

Minimizing Heat Loss from a Large Hydrothermal Vent Field

The energy available from the Earth's core below the hydrothermal ventfields is truly impressive. There will be situations where a naturalhydrothermal vent will not be able to keep up with the demand for thecoalification process. The slow spreading North Atlantic Ridge could seea level of coalification activities that would exceed its thermal outputcapability. Modifying hydrothermal vent field by covering the field witha sturdy cover that can withstand most volcanic events and still bemovable could minimize the effect of such demands on the system. Theheat shield 901 in FIG. 9 may be configured to conserve heat.

Large Reusable Vent Covers

FIG. 18 and FIG. 19 illustrate the modification and use of a doubledhulled oil tanker 1800. View A-A, View B-B, and View C-C depict a hull1801, a total of twelve oil storage tanks 1802, the ships superstructure1803, and/or other components. In FIG. 18, view D-D illustrates amodified version of the same ship with the superstructure removed, thedeck removed including the tops of the oil tanks, and the internal drivesystem removed as is normally done when scrapping a ship. View D-Dillustrates the bulkheads or walls of the oil storage tanks 1804 thatface other have been modified 1805 to accommodate the peaks of ridgeswhen deployed as a cover for a hydrothermal vent field. Lifting eyes1806 have been added to aid in maneuvering the hull when used as ahydrothermal vent field cover. The use of a double hulled ship in thisapplication has an advantage in that there is a stagnant layer betweenthe remaining outside oil tank 1802 bulkheads 1804 and the outside hull1801. The gap between the hull 1801 and the oil tanks 1802 can be filledwith material that has a lower thermal conductivity than water furtherimproving the thermal insulation capability of the hydrothermal ventfield cover. Sea silos 1201-1301-1601 can be used to supply organicmaterial directly into the vent covers 1801-2001-2204 on thehydrothermal vent field.

FIG. 19 is a deployed version of a doubled hulled oil tanker similar toview D-D of FIG. 18, including a hydrothermal vent field with vents 701,rock core 702 and residue 703 on top of the rock core 702. Hull 1801with modified internal tank bulkheads 1805 and lifting eyes 1803 isconnected to a float 1901 via cables 1902. The top of float 1901 may bearranged fifty to one hundred feet below the sea surface 601 and may beconnected to the surface buoy 604 by chain 605. The float 1901 willprovide stability to the hydrothermal vent field cover including hull1801 and modified internal bulkheads 1805 should the vents 701 erupt ina violent volcanic manner and shift the position of the hull 1801. Thefloat 1901 may significantly reduce the displacement of a boat that cansafely pick up the hull 1801 off the sea bed and move it to a newlocation. The modified oil tanker hull 1801 as shown in FIG. 19 can bemoved up near the surface, filled with floating logs and other floatingmaterial and then lowered to the sea floor vent for the coalification ofthe hull's contents.

FIG. 20 is a barge configured for use as a transporter of organicmaterial to the coalification site and to provide cover for thehydrothermal vent field. The barge may include a hull 2001 shown here asa double hull, two hatches 2003-2004 that open for filling the barge andopen for discharging the contents at the coalification site, and/orother components. The barge can be lifted from the keel 2005 usinglifting eyes 2006 as well as lifting points on the top of hull inconfiguration 2000 for use when bring the barge to the surface of theocean after a coalification run or hauling it out of the water. In ViewA-A of FIG. 20 the hatches 2003-2004 are closed while in View B-B thehatches 2003-2004 are open.

Configuration 2000 of FIG. 20 has a bow section 2002 that serves severalpurposes. Bow section 2002 will make the transportation of the bargeunder tow or under its own power more efficient. Bow section 2002 isalso an adjustable float where the displacement is modified by adding orremoving water from an internal water reservoir. When the barge is beingtransported, the reservoir in 2002 would normally be empty.

FIG. 21 is a configuration where barge hull 2001 is inverted withhatches 2003-2004 open as in FIG. 20 View B-B and covering thehydrothermal vent field with vents 701 under hull 2001. The heat fromthe vents will be conserved in the water under the hull as opposed tostreaming into the open ocean in an effort to speed up the coalificationprocess. The bow section 2002 is functioning as a float near the surface601 adding stability to the barge when moving the barge over the ventand when recovering from a violent volcanic event.

FIG. 22 is a cross-section of a multi-stage coalification ovenconfiguration 2200 with three of the stages shown. The hydrothermal ventfields are generally located on mid-ocean ridges. Configuration 2200 hasthe input of organic matter 1205 at a high point 2201 of the system withthe input for the organic matter 1205 making its way throughinterconnecting pipes 2203 in the direction of arrows 2202 passingthrough the oven housings 2204 and eventually reaching the end point2205 where the processed organic matter will flow further down themid-ocean ridge and down into a valley below where it will accumulateand complete the coalification process forming coal.

The ovens in configuration 2200 may include an outer shell 2204 mountedon supports 2206 that keep the oven shell above ridge 702 and over vents701 and a perforated screen 2207 that surrounds hydrothermal vent 701between ridge 702 and oven shell 2004. The ovens have funnels 2208 toencourage the high temperature water emitted by hydrothermal vents 701to enter the processing ovens of configuration 2200 in the direction ofarrow 2209. The heated vent water will also accumulate under housing2204 of the processing oven in configuration 2200 and may be somewhatrestricted by perforated screen 2207.

The thermal output levels associated with hydrothermal vents are knownto very significantly. Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park isperhaps the best example of this. The configuration of FIG. 22 minimizesthe effect of individual vent thermal variations throughput highs andlows by averaging the output of several vents as well as to hold theincoming organic material being processed for a longer period of timeallowing for a more complete breakdown of the organic matter enteringthe system at 2201.

Coal Recovery

What remains of the organic material that successful completes thecoalification process is coal (e.g., in the form of hydrochar). In somecases, the structure of the original trees or other plant may bepreserved resulting in a relatively low density, like a piece ofcharcoal. The coal could be sucked up off the bottom of the ocean as-is,after coalification at the hydrothermal vent fields, dried, compacted,and used for fuel. It also could be compacted in or near the vent fieldwith the use of heavy weight 1500 and used for fuel. The carbon residueresulting from the hydrothermal vent coalification process can alsoimprove the soil used for crop production including reforestation, as afuel, or in the manufacturer of materials having a carbon base.

Protection from Storms

Ocean storms, squalls, hurricanes, cyclones, are common on the highseas. Fortunately, these are surface phenomenon and have little effecton the hydrothermal vent fields or the deep oceans. During hurricanes,wavelengths of eight hundred feet and wave heights of one hundred feetcan be reached. Water movement as a result of wave action is negligiblehalf a wavelength below the wave or about 450 feet below the ocean'ssurface for the waves as described. Some of the surface equipmentassociated with the coalification process that would be difficult toremove when faced with a storm will often be configured to be submergedabout 450 feet below the ocean's surface while tethered to a marker buoyon the surface. This will be done to avoid storm damage for largeplatforms described herein and the like.

Alternative Energy Sources

Hydrothermal vent fields are a very attractive location forcoalification of organic matter because large quantities of organicmatter can be processed, and because the resulting coal does not need tobe removed. Waste heat from industrial processes or from land basedvolcanic activity can also be used for this purpose.

Alternative Coalification Sites

The process described herein has focused on the use of high pressuresuper-heated water for the coalification of organic matter. The processcan be accomplished at or near atmospheric pressures if the oxygen isexcluded from the processing effort. The use of nitrogen gas wouldprevent the formation of CO₂ at the temperatures needed to breakdownorganic compounds. High temperature steam can be used to breakdownorganic compounds that do not react significantly with water moleculesin a way that forms and releases CO₂ or CH₄. It is possible to achievethe needed water pressures to achieve the coalification goals usingpumps or having a stand of water that has a vertical elevation of aboutone thousand six hundred feet. Across the world there are presently 11skyscrapers that are taller enough to achieve that head of pressure andthousands of hills and mountains where this could be accomplished. Thebig island of Hawaii has both mountains that are tall enough andvolcanic activity at the bottom that could supply the needed heat.

Inland Hydrothermal Vents

There are deep inland lakes that have thermal vents like Lake Ysyk inKyrgyzstan that never freezes due to the geothermal activity. Thecoalification process, as described herein, is not limited to the oceansbut rather to hydrothermal vents that are deep enough under water toraise the boiling point of the water to a temperature that will quicklydegrade the incoming organic material.

Exemplary Operations

FIG. 23 is a block diagram 2200 of an exemplary operating sequence for arequest for the coalification of organic material. The first column 2301is the incoming request and response. The second column 2302 is ananalysis of the incoming request. The weather on the high seas willsometimes cause delays. The incoming material must be from an approvedsource, and the customer must have the ability and desire to pay for theeffort. If these basic needs are not met, the request will be rejected.

If the load is accepted, a plan 2303 will be worked out with thecustomer. Following that coalification 2304 will initiated and aftercompleted, any reusable containers 2304 or desired residue 2304 will bescheduled for pickup by the customer. Billing 2305 for the effort willbe done after the coalification is started and in most cases before thecoalification of the incoming material is completed.

Drilling for Heat

Nature's submarine hydrothermal thermal vents are useful as an energysource as-is but could be improved. The volcanic energy is coming frommagma below the hydrothermal vents. Drilling down below the hydrothermalvent fields to get closer to the energy source can be accomplished withcommon equipment like the drill ship 2601 of FIG. 26, including drillingtower 2602, drilling shaft 2603, drill bit 2604, and/or othercomponents. The drill bit housing 2605 may hold grinding wheels 2606that rotate and have teeth that grind through rock. When drilling, thehousing 2605 and shaft 2603 rotate. When drilling a borehole 2702through rock 2701 as shown in the cross-sectional drawing FIG. 27a ,high pressure water is pumped through the shaft 2603 from the drillship2601 to the drill bit 2604 where it exits the drill bit housing 2605pushing ground up rock 301 fragments up and out of the borehole 2702 ofFIG. 27a . The high flow rate of surface water associated with thedrilling process will also cool the drill bit when drilling for the heatemitted from the magma chambers commonly located below hydrothermal ventfields.

Once the drill bit has reached the desired position, the drill bit andassociated equipment may be withdrawn. A borehole liner 2703 is oftenadded to support the walls of the borehole 2702 as shown in FIG. 27b andFIG. 27c . The configuration of FIG. 27c has a pipe 2704 added tofacilitate the extraction of heat from the borehole 2702. Water may movedown the pipe 2704 as indicated by directional arrow 2705, eithermechanically propelled or through convection that occurs when the waterheated in the borehole 2702 of FIG. 27c begins to rise as indicated bydirectional arrows 2706. The heat from the borehole walls may betransferred to the water: the water may expand, lowering its density,and start to rise. The output from the borehole 2706 can be in the formof hot water or steam or supercritical water. The state of the water2706 can change as it rises due to changes in temperature and pressureof the water.

There are multiple sources possible for the water 2705 flowing down tube2704 to the borehole. Water deep in the ocean is typically in the 2° C.to 4° C. range and a little warmer very near the hydrothermal ventfields. Water from active thermal vents is relatively hot but can beused as is as incoming water 2704 or mixed with cooler water prior touse. Water flowing 2705 down tube 2704 can come from the hydrothermalvent processing ovens of FIG. 31, 32, 38, 41, or the storage facility ofFIG. 39.

The water 2705 flowing down tube 2704 can come from the surface of theocean 2607 where it is normally warmer than the water at the bottom ofthe ocean. The surface water can be moved down to the borehole in amanner that will allow it to act as an insulating jacket for heatedwater coming out of the borehole in a coaxial configuration as describedin FIG. 30a or FIG. 39a where it will take on heat from the hotterrising water and/or steam in the center of the coaxial pipe. Watercoming from the surface is likely to include organic matter likemunicipal sewage and garbage that will be loaded into the pipe 2704 andprocessed into hydrochar while traveling through the borehole andprocessing equipment after going through the borehole. Surface water2705 flowing down tube 2704 is likely water that has been used ascoolant for energy processing operations before being loaded into tube2704. When needed, water flowing 305 down tube 2704 can be assisted withpressure from the surface as is done with the drill shaft 2603 or withimpellers located near the bottom of the ocean.

FIG. 28 is a cross-section of a hydrothermal vent output tube 2703 thatterminates at endpoint 2801 near the ocean floor 2803 with the output2706 from the tube 2703 directed through tube 2802. The incoming water2705 is entering through tube 2704. The heated output water 2706 flowingthrough pipe 2802 is likely to be directed into an ocean bottomprocessing effort including but not limited to hydrothermal vent ovens3101, 3802 energy storage unit 3900 or a rain cloud generating operation4500 or an electrolysis processor 4900. The incoming water 2705 in tube2704 could be coming from the same operation as the output 2706resulting in an increase in the heat in the water 2706 leaving theborehole.

FIG. 29 is a crossover connector 2900 that moves the heated output water2706 from the outside position in pipe 2703 containing heated water fromthe bore hole near the ocean floor 2803 and moves the egressing water tothe inside position of the coaxial pipe 2903 above the crossoverconnector 2900. The incoming cooler water 2705 is moved from the outsideposition in pipe 2902 above the crossover connector to the insideposition in pipe 2704 before or after entering the borehole.

The incoming water 2705 can come from many different sources aspreviously mentioned but when it comes from water near the exit of theheated water 306 it can increase the insolation capability of thecoaxial plumbing configuration. The incoming water 2705 in the outsidetube 2902 will be exposed to the heat escaping the hotter water 2706 inthe inside coaxial tube. Since the temperature of the incoming water 305has been increased, the temperature of the exiting water will beincreased. This same principle can be applied to plumbing where theincoming water 2705 and the outgoing water 2706 is not configuredcoaxially but side-by-side in near vicinity or in a cluster withmultiple entrances and egress riser tubes bundled and moving energy fromone point to another.

When the hot water 2706 or steam 2706 or supercritical water 2706 isrising from the borehole, it is likely to change state. FIGS. 30a and30b illustrates ways to control the change in state when needed toenhance a process. Referring to FIG. 30a , as the hot water 2706 isrising through the riser tube 2903 the pressure will decrease, and it islikely the water will begin to boil before it reaches its destination,which could be the surface of the ocean. The boiling point can becontrolled by adding cool water 3004 to the hot water 2706 flow as shownin FIG. 30a where a hot water temperature controller 3001 has beenadded. There are two water input streams 3002 and 3003 for this versionof the controller. One input is from water 3003 surrounding the deviceand the other input water 3002 is from the incoming water 2705 headingdown to the bore hole. If the hot water 2706 starts boiling 3005, thecooler water 3004 mixing with the hotter water 2706 will reduce thewaters 2706 temperature and the waters 2706 tendency to boil 3006 oreliminate the boiling entirely. Optimizing the systems performance mayresult with several controllers 3001 being added to the coaxial tube3000 a to maintain control of the flow rate of the hot water 2706.

In the configurations of FIG. 30 the conservation of energy in thecoaxial configuration has been improved with the addition of insulation3007 being added to the internal coaxial tube 2903. Also, insulation3008 may be added to the external coaxial tube 2902.

Near the bottom of the ocean, the water entering the controller 3001through the local input 3003 could be as cold as 2° C. or 3° C. If theincoming water 2705 is surface water, it is likely to enter the outsidecoaxial tube 2902 near 20° C. and take on heat from the hot water 2706in the riser tube 2903 increasing the temperature of the incoming waterstream 2705. At the location of the controller, the incoming water 2705entering the controller at the controller input 3002 could be above 100°C. If the goal of the system is to generate rain clouds as described inthe system associated with FIG. 45 and maximizing the amount of waterblown into the air is desirable, warmer incoming water throughcontroller input 3002 would support that goal with more hot water 2706moving through the riser tube 2903.

Referring to FIG. 30b , the steam output pressure may be addressed. Thereservoir 3009 has been added to provide room for the water to boil.Referring to the system of FIG. 45, if the cloud generating process canbe optimized with steam from the hydrothermal vent system at 100 psig,the configuration of FIG. 30b can accomplish that efficiently. Theevaporation tank 3009 would be set up such that the evaporation line3010 will be 80 m (262 ft.) below the water's surface 2607. Below theevaporation line 3010 the expansion chamber 3009 will contain boilingwater 3011 and above the evaporation line, the chamber will containpressurized steam. For the stated conditions, the water temperature forthe hot water 2706 entering the chamber is controlled at 170° C. (338°F.) with controllers 3001 located below the expansion tank. When the hotwater 2706 enters the chamber, it will boil until the pressure in thechamber reaches 100 psig and then stop boiling since the pressure willhave raised the boiling point to 170° C. The pressure above theevaporation line 3010 would typically be controlled at the surface andadjusted to meet the system needs. The chamber of FIG. 30b can beconfigured to minimize problems associated with steam hammers withproperly designed expansion and contraction capabilities.

Managing Combustible Gas and Oil Byproducts

As the coalification process is done at deeper depths and highertemperatures the output will change. At shallower depths, the organicmatter being produced will be mostly hydrochar, a form of coal that canbe left on the sea floor for centuries where it may turn into coalseams. Coalification operations located 2.5 km or more below the seasurface could be operating at 400° C. At that temperature and depth theproducts will be hydrochar and will include oil that resembles sweetcrude petroleum as well as one or more of methane, ethane, propane, andother combustible gasses. The oil and combustible gas generated duringhigh temperature coalification need to be managed.

Referring to FIG. 31, a hydrothermal vent oven 3101 is sitting on theocean floor 2803 set up for coalification under high temperature highpressure conditions. The oven may receive organic matter, garbage,sewerage from the sea silo 3102. The P trap 3108 at the bottom of thesea silo 3102 may prevent the oil and combustible gas produced duringthe coalification process from traveling back up the sea silo 3102 tothe surface of the ocean where the sea silo 3102 is loaded with organicmatter.

The solid hydrochar 3103 resulting from the process will collect in thebottom of the oven 3101 and move slowly out the hydrochar exit 3104 anddown the side of the mid-ocean ridge where the hydrothermal vent fieldsare often found. The oven may be heated with the output fromhydrothermal vents through tubing 2704 and 2802. In this application theinput the hydrothermal vent borehole operation 2703 is coming frominside the hydrothermal vent oven 3101 rather than the surroundingwater.

A reservoir 3106 may be connected to the top of the hydrothermal oven3101 by a tube 3105. The reservoir 3106 is positioned to collect andcool the oil and combustible gas before proceeding up through riser pipe3107 to the surface for use or disposal.

Elevated Coalification Platforms

Minimizing the problem associated with combustible gas and oil generatedin favor of solid char during the coalification process can beaccomplished by raising the hydrothermal vent processing oven up off thebottom of ocean and/or lowering the temperature of the water heating theoven. In FIG. 28 the oven may be lifted well off the sea floor and theinput to the borehole 2703 is from the open ocean rather than thehydrothermal vent oven. The sea silo 3203 input to the hydrothermal ventoven 2803 may not require a P trap 3108. The exit 3104 for the hydrochar3003 has been extended down near the sea floor. Beam 3202 is onecontinuous straight leg of the support structure 3201 added here to showprospective to the hydrothermal vent oven 3101 elevation above the oceanfloor 2803.

High Volume Coalification Processing

FIG. 33 is a typical two-dimension orthographic projection of a doubledhulled oil tanker similar to that of FIG. 18a . There are about 7400 oiltankers operating worldwide. The normal life of a tanker is about 15years. After that ships need to be refurbished or scrapped. Severalhundred tankers are scrapped every year. Scrapping a ship in the EU isexpensive and accidental groundings during a moon high tide inBangladesh or Indonesia are sometimes the final voyage of such vesselswith the vessels being scrapped on the beach after grounding.

FIG. 34 is a three-dimensional view orthographic projection of a doublehull tanker of 3300 with the side View B-B and front View C-Ccross-sectioned hull 3301 that has been modified for use as ahydrothermal vent oven. The superstructure 3302 has been removed as wellas the deck and the bulkheads 3401 separating the oil storage tankssimilar to FIG. 18b . The areas between the hulls can be stuffed withinsulation, e.g., material that has a lower thermal conductivity thansea water, when being used as a hydrothermal vent oven.

FIG. 35 is the hull 3400 cross-sectioned as shown in FIG. 34 that hasbeen loaded with organic matter. The organic matter 3501 loaded into thestern of the hull 3301 includes municipal garbage, forest litter andother organic matter in reusable or degradable organic containers 3503for processing in the hydrothermal vent oven. The forward compartmentsmay be loaded with logs.

FIG. 36 is a three-dimensional view of the grates used as hatch coversfor the loaded hull 3500. The hatch cover grates will be sized to allowthe hydrochar to pass through grate and head down toward the ocean floorwhile keeping the unprocessed material in the hull 3601. Some of thematerial processed in the hydrothermal vent ovens, including treetrunks, are likely to form a carbon skeletons of their former self.These can be broken up with high pressure water driven into the hulls orhydraulic pressure plates that will push the processed matter throughthe grates. The hatch cover grates 3601 are configured to function withmunicipal waste and forest litter while hatch covers 3602 are sturdierand configured to operate with trees or other organic matter where theremaining carbon skeletons will likely be crushed.

FIG. 37 is the three view orthographic projection of a modified tankerhull loaded with organic matter, with hatch covers in place. The hull iscross-sectioned as was done in FIG. 35. At this point the hull can betowed to the hydrothermal vent, and submerged.

FIG. 38a is a two view orthographic projection 3800 a of the tanker hullloaded with organic matter 3700 and rolled over 90° on the way down tohydrothermal oven processing center 3800 b.

FIG. 38b is a raised hydrothermal vent oven platform 3801 configured tosupport a hydrothermal vent oven. In configuration 3700, the hull isrotated 180° and is now resting with the hatches 3600 facing down. Theinterface between the hydrothermal vent oven 1300 and the oven platform3701 is not shown but normally a grate similar to 4104 or 3602 would beused. The oven platform 3801 is supported above the bottom of the oceanby legs 3804. This may be done to reduce the amount of oil orcombustible gas that is generated. It also makes it easier to retrievethe reusable hydrothermal oven parts 3400-3600-3700 for processing moreloads of organic material. Under the platform is a funnel device 3702configured to direct the char that results from this operation into atube 3803 that will release the char near the ocean floor.

The energy for processing the organic material in the hydrothermal ventoven 3700 is derived from eight coaxial borehole riser tubes 2704 withthe hot water tube 2802 mounted through the funnel 3802 walls andreleased into the hydrothermal vent oven 3700 through the grates 3600.The water for entering the coaxial riser tube through tube 2703 is showncoming from the surrounding waters but could be coming from the heatedwater in the hydro thermal vent oven 3700.

Storing Hydrothermal Energy

FIG. 39 is a hydrothermal vent hot water storage unit 3900. The storageunit is configured to store the output of natural hydrothermal vents orborehole hydrothermal vents. As shown, there are two borehole energysupplies located outside the borehole each including a coaxial riserpipe 2704 coming up from a bore hole in the ocean floor 2703 and anincoming water supply going down to the borehole 2703. The incomingwater to the bore hole is being supplied from a coaxial riser pipe 3008with the water from the outside pipe 2902 supplying warm water toborehole input 2703. The output from these two external high temperaturewater sources is fed into the chamber through pipe 2702. These sourcessupply the water inside the chamber.

A third borehole hydrothermal vent heat source inside the storage unitwith the tube 2704 may be connected to a bore hole, with the hot waterfrom the bore hole exiting pipe 2802 inside the storage chamber. Theinput to the borehole hydrothermal vent may come from inside the storageunit. This heat source recirculates the water in the storage unitthrough the hydrothermal vent bore hole keeping the stored water hot.The output of the energy storage unit is through tube 2906 that hasinsulation 3007 and is the center pipe in a coaxial configuration whichincludes pipe 2902 and its insulation 3008.

The housing for the hydrothermal energy storage 3901-3902-3904 are shownin cross-section and may include an outside wall 3902, an inside wall3904, a movable dome 3901 that rises and falls to accommodate more orless volume, and/or other components. Inside the inside wall 3904 afiller 3905 is used to reduce the amount of space for storing heatedwater that would be difficult to access when the dome 3901 is at itsminimum height as shown in FIG. 39c . FIG. 39a shows the housing inmid-range. FIG. 39b shows the oven near full extension. Between theinner wall 3904 and the outer wall 3902 a sealant 3903 similar todrilling mud, will be used to minimize the loss of energy through thecrack between the inner wall 3904 and the moving dome 3901 and betweenthe outer wall 3902 and the dome 3901. The hot water coming out ofhydrothermal vents pipe 2802 is in one of three states. It can be hotwater that is below its boiling point, it can be above its boilingpoint, or it can be at supercritical water.

When the energy storage unit 3900 is being used for storing energy inthe form of hot water, the storage unit can be very large. The waterinside the dome is likely to be only slightly less dense than thesurrounding water. Small amounts of ballast and buoyancy can be added torelieve stress on the structure. A storage unit that is to containenergy in the form of steam or supercritical water will require arelatively heavy dome to contain the steam or supercritical water. Theballast requirements can be reduced by increasing the height to diameterration of the dome. The domain of supercritical water 2503 is shown inthe lower right hand corner of FIG. 2. In this state the liquid andvapor stages of water are indistinguishable, and the water takes on newproperties including the loss of polarity, the ability to penetrateporous solids, and much faster oxidation. The density of thesupercritical water will be about one-third of the water surrounding it.In nature supercritical water forms the black smoker type ofhydrothermal vent. A storage unit for storing supercritical water willneed a sufficiently heavy dome to keep the supercritical watercompressed. The sealant 3903, fill 3905 and base 2703 will need to beconfigured to minimize energy loss due to the supercritical water'sability to penetrate porous solids. The structure and plumbing will needto be evaluated for corrosion failure since the supercritical water is ahighly aggressive oxidant.

A common use of high pressure steam is to power steam turbines thatdrive generators for the production of electricity. FIG. 40 is a typicalsteam turbine set up. The high pressure steam for the turbines 4001enters the system through pipe 3007 and passes through turbines 4001with housings in cross-section on either side of entrance pipe 3007causing turbines 4001 to turn shaft 4003. Shaft 4003 passes throughbushings 4005 and drives the two electrical generators 4002. The steamthat entered through pipe 3007 will exit through ducts 4004. The abilityto safely store the energy at the bottom of the sea at high pressure andhave it available on demand may help to commercialize the use ofhydrothermal vent energy to provide electrical power. The electricalgenerator of FIG. 40 may provide electrical power for the electrolysisequipment of FIG. 49.

Large Scale Effort on Semisubmersible Platforms

The primary focus of the coalification process is to reduce the CO₂levels in the atmosphere by preventing organic carbon from reenteringthe atmosphere as CO₂ which occurs with virtually all organic matterthrough combustion or consumption by microbes with both methodsreleasing the carbon as CO₂ into the atmosphere. The anthropogeniccarbon dioxide release as a result of burning fossil fuel is in therange of 36 Giga Ton (GT) to 40 GT a year.

The World Bank Group 2018 report “WHAT A WASTE 2.0” concluded that “theworld generates 2.01 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste annually.”Some of the garbage is burned to produce energy for heating or thegeneration of electricity with its carbon released as atmospheric carbondioxide. Some of it is too wet to burn and requires more energy to heatit up than it releases when it burns. If the carbon content of municipalgarbage is 10% by weight and if half the World's municipal garbage couldbe processed into hydrochar, 1% of the World's annual anthropogenic CO₂emissions would be sequestered.

A study led by T. W. Crowther of Yale School of Forestry andEnvironmental Studies concluded that there are 3.04 Trillion trees over10 cm (4″) diameter at breast height (DBH). Statistics on the amount ofcarbon stored in an “average tree” that dies and is not part of aharvest are not available. Tree's carbon density varies significantlyform high density teak, to hardwood, to pines, to low density palmtrees. While the average dying tree is an unknown; it could be a 100year old conifer, with a 65 mm DBH, weighing over 3 metric tons andsequestering enough carbon to release 4 metric tons of CO₂ into theatmosphere if burned or allowed to rot with consumption by microbesreleasing CO₂ into the atmosphere. There would be some 30.4 billion such“average trees” dying every year some of which will be harvested forconstruction or energy generation. If 30% of these conceptual “averagetrees” were processed through coalification, it would mean that over 9billion trees would be processed per year, over 36 GT of CO₂ would bekept out of the atmosphere, and the Earth would basically be carbonneutral. If the hydrothermal borehole vent ovens were able to handle theequivalent of 2500 “average trees” a day, the world would need 10,000ovens in operation year round. These are rough estimates but point outthat the atmospheric CO₂ concentration could be controlled as describedherein and that an operation capable of doing so would be huge.

FIG. 41 illustrates a large coalification processing center. It is ahighly stable semisubmersible, similar to those used in the petroleumindustry, configured to be moored at sea above an operating hydrothermalvent area. This type of platform commonly includes living facilities,life boats, navigation equipment and other amenities as well as itemscommon to wharfs for the loading and unloading of ships. In someimplementations, the semisubmersible platform may include four cornersupports including float tank 4104, column 4105, ballast tank 4106,and/or other components. The four columns are connected with structuralsupports 4107. The platform floats with its waterlines 4111 at sea level2607 under a wide range of conditions by adjusting the amount of ballastin the columns 4105 and ballast tanks 4106. The above water area of thesemisubmersible 4110 includes a deck 4108 supported by structuralsupports 4107 and cranes 4105 mounted on the deck for moving cargo. Onesection of the upper platform 4110 has been left open 4109 for easyentrance of ships, barges, or rafts of organic matter that will beprocessed.

The lower section of 4100 is a hydrothermal borehole vent oven 4112suspended from the semisubmersible by cables 4103. The hydrothermal ovenas shown has four walls 4101 a porous grated bottom 4104, and a lid 4102that is configured to open and close as needed. The oven 4112 also has afunnel shaped collector 3802 below the bottom grate 4104 configured todirect the hydrochar from the coalification process down pipe 3803 tothe ocean floor. The heated water for the coalification process iscoming up from the hydrothermal borehole vent in coaxial tube 2902 withthe heated water 2706 going through the walls of the funnel 3802 to bereleased under the grate 4101. The return water 2705 for thisconfiguration is coming from inside the funnel area.

FIG. 42 is a container 4200 with a heavy lid 4802 for moving floatinglogs or other material down to the hydrothermal oven 4112. The containerhas sides 4201, part of which have been cut away to show grating 4104that makes up the bottom of the container. Both container 4201 and theheavy lids 4202 have lifting eyes 4203 for use with cranes 4105.Multiple containers will be making their way down to and up fromhydrothermal vent platform of FIG. 41 at any given time. The containerscan be loaded at the location where the transport ships pick up the loadof logs or other organic matter with the heavy lids added by the cranes4105 at the operating deck 4110.

FIG. 43 is a surface view of the operation portion of FIG. 41. A cargoship 4301 unloads organic matter to the processing center 4110. Theprocessing center 4010 has a corral 4304 made up of buoys and barriers4342 and netting below the barriers to minimize the sinking of logs inthe wrong place. The corral holds rafts or logs 4303 for laterprocessing. The energy that powers the coalification processing centerof FIG. 43 is a 24/7 operation. Having a storage area like the corralmay maintain the efficiency of the operation. Log or bamboo rafts towedto the processing center 4110 will contain massive amounts organicmatter to be processed. These rafts will be brought in to the processingcenter 4110 through the entrance 4109, and into the corral 4604 beforeor after being disassembled in the processing center 4110.

Log rafts have proven to be effective in moving large quantities oflogs. Between 1906 and 1941, Benson's Saw Mill located in the BarrioLogan section of San Diego Calif. moved 120 large log rafts from theColumbia River in Oregon to San Diego, some 1000 miles by sea. Thelargest rafts contained 19,000 m3 of logs that if processed as describedherein, into hydrochar, would sequester enough carbon to account for allof the anthropogenic CO₂ generated in the US in a day.

FIG. 44 is an operational block diagram of the system described in FIG.41, FIG. 42, and FIG. 43. The initial evaluation 4401 will divide theincoming organic matter into log processing 4402, municipal waste 4407,or other 4414. For log processing 4402 the logs will normally first goto Corral Storage 4403 and allowed the organic matter to take on waterwhile waiting to be processed. The logs will then be loaded into anorganic matter container 4404, if need be, and moved to the hydrothermaloven 4405. If a container or just the container weighted lid is used, itwill be retrieved 4406 after the log processing is complete. Municipalwaste 4407 may be better handled through the sea silos 4512 andhydrothermal ovens with restricted flow might be more appropriate forprocessing 4413. Municipal trash can be loaded into containers 4409moved to the hydrothermal vent ovens 4410 for processing and thecontainer retrieved 4411 when done.

There may be special cases like medical waste, drug seizures, hightemperature plastics, were special handling 4414 and procedures 4415 aredesirable. Also, there is organic matter that can be sunk or be pusheddown to the bottom of the ocean where it can decompose without theemission of significant greenhouse gasses using the coalificationprocess described herein. Unlike the organic material that has beenthrough the coalification process, unprocessed organic matter may takehundreds of years to decay and is likely to releasing oil, combustiblegases, or carbon dioxide during that process.

Rain Cloud Generation

FIG. 45 depicts a mid-altitude cloud generating system with two views ofconfiguration 4500. The semisubmersible platform may be designed withfour corner supports including float tank 4104, column 4105, ballasttank 4106, and/or other components. The four columns may be connectedwith structural supports 4107. The platform floats with its waterlines4111 at sea level 2607 under a wide range of conditions by adjusting theamount of ballast in the columns 4105 and ballast tanks 4106. Theplatform has an upper deck 4505 and a submerged deck 4506. An extendiblemast system may include multiple concentric masts 4501-4502-4503 witheach mast stabilized near the top with four shrouds 4504. When needed,further mast supports including but not limited to spreaders, shrouds,and jack stays may be added. The extended mast system will typically bein the 1000 to 3000 foot range. The flow controls will be located nearthe deck 4505 with the incoming steam from 2704 likely to be coming fromthe evaporation controls of FIG. 30 to maximize the volume of watervaper from exhaust tube 4503. The typical pressure range at the bottomof the masts will be in the 5 pounds per square inch (psi) to 200 psirange. In FIG. 45 the return water going down to the borehole 2705 iscoming from the oceans relatively warm surface water through tube 2703.The steam leaving the top of the mast will form rain clouds at anelevation were the prevailing winds are strong enough to move the cloudsover the coastal mountains. The mountains are often associated withtectonic plate movement that also generates hydrothermal vent fields.Many places in the world include hydrothermal vent fields near a coastwhere mountains have been pushed up hindering rainclouds from movinginland with the prevailing winds including, but not limited to the westcoasts of British Columbia, Canada; Washington, Oregon, and Californiain the USA; the Mexican states of Baha California, Baja California Sur,Sonora, Sinaloa, Nayarit, Jalisco, Colima, Michoacan, Guerrero, Oaxaca,and Chiapas; as well as the entire Central American “Dry Corridor”. Thecollision of the tectonic plates causes the mountains on the continentto rise. The differential movement of the tectonic plates results in theirruption of hydrothermal vents when the magma fills in the gap betweenthe shifting plates. While there are many locations were the systemoperation could be described perhaps the most interesting is the MiddleEast.

FIG. 46 depicts the Red Sea and the surrounding area. The Red Sea Rift4601 connects Dead Sea Transform 4602 a rift in the Gulf of Aqaba andruns down the middle of the Red Sea. Seven hydrothermal vent fields4603-4604-4605-4606-4607-4608 and 4609 have been discovered in the RedSea and are listed in FIG. 47 along with the name of the field, thejurisdiction, the position, the depth, and the spreading rate. The RedSea Rift is spreading NNE to SSW and the Saudi Arabian plate is twistingCCW at a tectonic plate rate. Research efforts over the last decade haveresulted in detailed mapping of the Red Sea floor.

The Saudi Arabian land elevation in FIG. 46 below 1 km (3280 ft.) has awhite background with black dots. There is a dashed line ( - - - ) 4613running through this area that indicates 200 m (656 ft) above sea levelwith lower ground down toward the Red Sea in the west and the ArabianSea in the east. Higher land is located between the dashed line 4613 andthe higher elevations indicated by an area with checker board squares4714. The elevation of the land in checker board squares 4714 is between1 km (3280 ft.) and 2 km (6560 ft.). The black area with white dots 2315is above 2 km.

FIG. 48 is the table of prevailing wind direction at various places inSaudi Arabia. The monitoring stations are for the most part, airports.The wind at airports is typically measured 30 feet off the ground. Theposition of three of the monitoring stations Wdijh 4610, Yenbo 4611, andJeddah-KAIA 4612 are identified on FIG. 48 by their reference numbers.Yenbo 4611 reported the prevailing winds out of the west for all twelvemonths for the year, Jeddah 4612 for nine of the twelve months and Wdijh4610 for six of the twelve months.

Referring to FIG. 46, there is a gap in the coastal mountains east ofWdijh 4610. Another gap east of the area between Yenbo 4611 and Jeddah4612 roughly follows the Naid Fault Zone. These gaps would reduce theimpedance for rainclouds developed over the Red Sea to be moved inlandover the mountains eastwards by the prevailing westerly wind. Theprobability of locating magma dykes in the area of interest that couldbe tapped to supply the needed thermal energy for generating clouds iselevated by the proximity of hydrothermal vent fields 4603 through 4607.

Hot Superheated and Supercritical Water Electrolysis

FIG. 49 is a depiction of electrolysis equipment that is configured toprocess water at the bottom 2803 of the sea using water heated from thehydrothermal boreholes vent or natural vents supplied through pipes 2704going down to the hydrothermal borehole vent and pipe 2802 out of thevent and into chamber 4901. The incoming water to the borehole heatingunit through pipe 2703 is shown coming from local open water source butis likely to be coming from the electrolysis chamber 2701. Theefficiency of electrolysis systems generally improve significantly ifthe water in the electrolysis chamber is above the critical point forwater, temperature above 373.946° C. and pressure above 217.75atmospheres.

The electrolysis chamber 4901 and storage tanks 4910-4911 are anchoredto the sea floor 403 directly or through supports 2008. Chamber 4901contains a separator 4902, anode 4904, and cathode 4903. Electricalpower is fed into the chamber with positive polarity 4915 connected toanode 4904 and negative polarity connection 4914 connected to cathode4903. The oxygen generated in electrolysis chamber 4901 near anode 4904will exit the chamber through pipe 4905 for storage in tank 4911. Thehydrogen generated near cathode 4903 will exit tank 4901 through pipe4906 for storage in tank 4910. From tanks 4910-4911 the oxygen andhydrogen will be delivered to its point of use, normally above sealevel, through pipes 4913 for the stored oxygen in tank 4911 and thoughpipe 4912 for the hydrogen stored in tank 4910.

The pressure in storage tanks 4910-4911 will be fairly constant with thevolume being changed by the rise or fall of water level 4909independently in the tanks. Storage tanks 4910-4911 and the electrolysistank 2501 all have a connection to the ocean at the bottom of tank 4907.The vents 4907 facilitate increases and decreases in the amount of waterin the tanks. It is expected that small amounts of char and/or tar willdevelop in the tanks during normal operation. The tubes 4907 will allowmaterial that settles in the bottom of the tanks 4910-4911-4901 to leavethe tanks.

Wind Powered Electric Power Generation at Sea

Electrolysis requiring electrical power can be done anyplace on theocean. Supercritical water electrolysis as depicted in FIG. 49 occurs atdepths of approximately 7000 feet or more below the ocean's surface. Theocean floor at those depths is generally a significant distance fromland. Equipment can be operated in mid-ocean waters with mooring cablesgoing out to several wide spread points on the ocean's floor. FIGS.50-54 describe systems configured to supply electrical energy at sea byharnessing wind power.

FIG. 50 depicts the system fully deployed wind powered electricalgenerating system with a large spinnaker like sail 5001 funneling winddown to a wind tunnel 5200 with wind powered turbine electricalgenerators 5401. Barge 5101-5102 in FIG. 50 is connected to a mooring atbuoy 5006 with the bow of the barge toward the mooring with bow line5008 connecting the bow of the barge to buoy 5206. In View D-D of FIG.50 the spinnaker is cross-sectioned along the area line (

) revealing the inside of the starboard half of the spinnaker. Normallyat sea, there is not enough wind to continuously support a spinnaker ofthe size shown. The top part of spinnaker 5001 contains a balloon likeenclosure 5002 that can be filled with enough hydrogen or helium to keepspinnaker 5001 aloft with no wind at all. A forestay 5007 is connectedto the upper section of spinnaker 5001 and buoy 5007. Forestay 5007 andbow line 5008 and a line 5003 between the spinnaker pole 5004 and buoy5006 as well as the possession of the spinnaker clew or corner and theend of the spinnaker pole 5004 are adjusted to control the shape ofspinnaker 5001. There are two spinnaker poles 5004, one leading from theport side of the boat and the other from starboard side of the barge outto the corner or clew of the spinnaker with the outside of the spinnakerpole attached to a float 5005 that will prevent the outside ends ofspinnaker pole 5004 from sinking in light or no wind. The floats 5005and the outer end of the spinnaker poles 5004 are connected together.The spinnaker clews are connected to tracks on the spinnaker polesallowing the clews to move from the storage position to the end of thespinnaker poles. The outer ends of the spinnaker poles are connected tobuoy 5006 by a rope or pole-guy 2603 that along with bow line 5008 willbe adjusted to optimize the wind going through the wind tunnel of 5200.

Referring to FIGS. 51A-51B-51C, each depicts two view orthographicprojections of a barge with hull 5101, hold 5102, masts 5103 and otherequipment in various stages of deployment. FIG. 51a shows aconfiguration that would be used if the barge were in storage or at seaon a mooring riding out a severe storm or hurricane. All the deckequipment has been lowered into the barge hold 5102 and a hatch 5104 hasbeen added to protect the wind tunnel egress. FIG. 51b depicts both theport and starboard masts 5103 being raised. The base of masts 5103 aremounted to the deck with a tabernacle which allows the masts to pivot attheir base. A backstay 5106 has been added to prevent the top of themast from moving forward. A halyard has been added between the top ofthe mast and the back of the wind tunnel which is stowed in the hold5102. The hatch 5104 has been removed and some of the equipment 5107 inthe wind tunnel assembly 5107 can be seen. FIG. 51c illustrates windtunnel 5200 and associated equipment out of the hold 5102 and in thenormal operation position. Spinnaker 5001 in this image is furled andstowed around the housing for the wind tunnel 5112. The wind tunnel hasa back plate 5109 and a front plate 5110. Back plate 5109 is slightlylarger than front plate 5110 with front plate 5109 fitting inside hold5102 and back plate 5109 fitting over the lip of hold 5102, forming partof the hatch. The front section of the wind tunnel 5110 includes theentrance to the wind tunnel 5111. The erect wind tunnel is preventedfrom rotating further aft by forestays 5108.

FIG. 52 is a front and side view of the wind tunnel area with View E-Eshowing a partial cross-section of the wind tunnel. The spinnaker 5112is still furled and stowed in the cross-sectioned of View E-E.

In FIG. 50 thru FIG. 54 the forward frame 5302 is located inside thewind tunnel has rows containing either five or four wind turbineelectrical generators 5301with the rows of four wind turbine generatorslocated slightly aft of the rows of five to eliminated propellerinterference. In the aft frame 5303 there are three rows of four windturbine electrical generators 5301 and four rows of three wind turbineelectrical generators with the rows of three slightly behind the rows offour generators to prevent propeller interference. In total, there aresixty wind turbine electrical generators 5301 shown in this assembly andin the wind tunnel. The wind tunnel can be designed so that it iscircular with one or more larger concentric wind turbine electricalgenerators with a relatively small gap between the concentric rotor andthe wall of the wind tunnel.

Furling the Spinnaker

The size of the spinnaker 5001 and the remoteness of typical operatingvenues make automated furling desirable. FIG. 54 depicts a furling orreefing system for spinnaker 5001. The system has reefing or furlingcords 5401 woven into the fabric of the spinnaker 5001 shown in FIG. 54f. The furling lines 5401 are woven through grommets 5402 located in thefabric of the spinnaker 5001. The lines 5401 and fasteners can also bemounted on one, or the other, or both sides of the spinnaker. The end ofthe furling lines 5401 are secured to the spinnaker 5001 with a knot5403 or fastener. For reefing the spinnaker, knots or fasteners can beadded closer to the wind tunnel frame where the spinnaker is normallystowed 5112.

In the application shown in FIG. 54, the furling cords 5401 are dividedinto four groups. The group with the shortest cords have the end knotinside the area marked by area line 5404 (

). The second group of furling lines 5401 are terminated 5403 inside thearea line 5405, the third group is terminated inside of area line 5406,and the fourth group of furling lines is terminated near the edge of thespinnaker 5001.

Reefing of the spinnaker 5001 can be accomplished by partially or fullytightening the inside sets of lines 5401 by group tightening the linesinside 5404 first then those inside 5405, then the lines 5401 inside5406. When furling the spinnaker, all the furling lines should be keptsnug.

The furling or reefing lines 5401 from any one of the four groups oflines can be wound on the same spindle with that spindle turning untilthe that portion of the spinnaker is properly retracted. Differences inlength for lines on the same spindle can be managed by modifying thediameter of the spindle so that all the lines on that spindle are fullyretract about the same time.

FIG. 55 depicts a system 5500 configured to coalify organic materialusing hydro pyrolysis powered by one or more hydrothermal borehole vents5505. In some implementations, system 5500 includes one or more of asemisubmersible platform 5501 (which may be similar to thesemisubmersibles shown in FIGS. 41-43), a transfer sub-system 5502(which may be similar to the sea silos 1201-1301-1601 shown in FIGS.12-13-16, or to the containers 400-500-4200 in FIGS. 4-5A-5B-42), ahydrothermal oven 5503 (which may be similar to the hydrothermal ovens800-1100-1400-1900-2100-2200 shown in FIGS. 8-11-14-19-21-22), one ormore pipes 5504 (which may be similar to tubes 2703-2704 or pipes2802-2902 shown in FIGS. 28-38B-39-41), and/or other components.Semisubmersible platform 5501 may be configured to be moored at a bodyof water, such as an ocean. Transfer sub-system 5502 may be configuredto transfer organic material from semisubmersible platform 5501 intohydrothermal oven 5503. Hydrothermal oven 5503 may be configured tocoalify the organic material using at least one of (i) hot water, (ii)steam, and (iii) supercritical water. One or more pipes 5504 may beconfigured to provide at least one of (i) hot water, (ii) steam, and(iii) supercritical water from one or more hydrothermal borehole vents5505, near ocean floor 5508, to hydrothermal oven 5503. In someimplementations, system 550 may include a pressure generator

FIG. 56 depicts a system 5600 configured to coalify organic materialusing hydro pyrolysis powered by one or more hydrothermal borehole vents5605 near ocean floor 5608. In some implementations, system 5600includes one or more of a drill ship 5601 (which may be similar to drillship 2601 shown in FIG. 26), a drill 5602 (which may be similar to thedrilling equipment shown in FIG. 26), and a transfer sub-system 5607(which may be similar to the sea silos 1201-1301-1601 shown in FIGS.12-13-16, or to the containers 400-500-4200 in FIGS. 4-5A-5B-42). Drillship 5601 may be configured to carry drill 5602. Drill 5602 may includedrill shaft 5603 (which may be similar to drilling shaft 2603 shown inFIG. 26), drill bit 5604 (which may be similar to drill bit 2604 shownin FIG. 26), and/or other components. Transfer sub-system 5607 may beconfigured to transfer organic material from drill ship 5601, throughdrill shaft 5603, into hydrothermal borehole vent 5605 such that theorganic material coalifies through hydro pyrolysis powered byhydrothermal borehole vent 5605. In some implementations, drill shaft5603 of drill 5602 may operate as transfer sub-system 5607. In someimplementations, transfer sub-system 5607 may include a conveyor belt(e.g., similar to conveyor 1206 shown in FIG. 12), a pressure generator,and/or other components. For example, transfer sub-system 5607 may beconfigured to use a pressure differential and/or gravity to move organicmaterial downward.

FIG. 57 illustrates a method 5700 to coalify organic material usinghydro pyrolysis powered by one or more hydrothermal borehole vents, inaccordance with one or more implementations. In some implementations,the organic material may include one or more of drugs, garbage, sewage,and/or other types of organic material. The operations of method 5700presented below are intended to be illustrative. In someimplementations, method 5700 may be accomplished with one or moreadditional operations not described, and/or without one or more of theoperations discussed. Additionally, the order in which the operations ofmethod 5700 are illustrated in FIG. 57 and described below is notintended to be limiting.

At an operation 5702, one or more hydrothermal borehole vents aredrilled in a floor of a body of water, such as an ocean floor. In someembodiments, operation 5702 is performed by a drill the same as orsimilar to drill 5602 (shown in FIG. 56 and described herein).

At an operation 5704, the organic material is delivered to a location ona surface of the body of water, wherein the location is above and/ornear the one or more hydrothermal borehole vents. In some embodiments,operation 5704 is performed by a cargo ship and/or a log raft the sameas or similar to cargo ship 4301 (or another ship described in thisdisclosure) and/or log raft 300 (shown in FIG. 43 and FIG. 3 anddescribed herein).

At an operation 5706, the organic material is transferred toward one ormore hydrothermal borehole vents. At least one of (i) hot water, (ii)steam, and (iii) supercritical water provided by the one or morehydrothermal borehole vents coalifies the organic material through usinghydro pyrolysis. The at least one of (i) hot water, (ii) steam, and(iii) supercritical water has a temperature of at least 200° C. In someembodiments, operation 5706 is performed by a transfer sub-system thesame as or similar to transfer sub-system5502 and/or transfer sub-system5607 (shown in FIG. 55 and FIG. 56 and described herein).

Although the present technology has been described in detail for thepurpose of illustration based on what is currently considered to be themost practical and preferred implementations, it is to be understoodthat such detail is solely for that purpose and that the technology isnot limited to the disclosed implementations, but, on the contrary, isintended to cover modifications and equivalent arrangements that arewithin the spirit and scope of the appended claims. For example, it isto be understood that the present technology contemplates that, to theextent possible, one or more features of any implementation can becombined with one or more features of any other implementation.

What is claimed is:
 1. A transportation system configured to transportorganic material by flight, the transportation system comprising: aremotely-piloted air vehicle configured to transport the organicmaterial through the air, and to provide lift to the transportationsystem; a frame coupled to the remotely-piloted air vehicle, wherein theframe is configured to be coupled to multiple air vehicles; the multipleair vehicles configured to provide additional lift to the transportationsystem in addition to the lift provided by the remotely-piloted airvehicle, wherein the multiple air vehicles are coupled to the frame; oneor more propellers configured to provide thrust to the transportationsystem; ballast storage configured to store ballast; and a harnessconfigured to couple the organic material to the transportation system.2. The transportation system of claim 1, wherein the remotely-pilotedair vehicle is a blimp.
 3. The transportation system of claim 1, whereinthe organic material includes one or more of trees and/or logs.
 4. Thetransportation system of claim 1, wherein the transportation systemfurther includes one or more navigation lights, one or more rudders, oneor more ailerons, and one or more motors.
 5. The transportation systemof claim 1, wherein the lift provided to the transportation systemcounteracts gravitational pull of the organic matter during the flight.6. The transportation system of claim 1, wherein the ballast storageincludes water ballast storage.
 7. The transportation system of claim 1,wherein the ballast storage includes one or more water bags.
 8. Thetransportation system of claim 7, wherein the one or more water bags arerefillable, and wherein the ballast storage is configured to empty theone or more water bags prior to the transportation of the organicmatter.
 9. The transportation system of claim 1, wherein the multipleair vehicles include five blimps.
 10. The transportation system of claim3, wherein the harness includes one or more logging straps configured tobe tied around the trees and/or the logs.
 11. The transportation systemof claim 1, further comprising a gondola configured to carry crew. 12.The transportation system of claim 1, wherein the multiple air vehiclesinclude blimps.